Idaho Radio News Etc.

The LA Times has a major story in today’s editions about the Calvary Satellite Network — based in Twin Falls.

Here’s the teaser:

Amid accusations over sex, money and control, Pastor Chuck Smith is about to surrender much of the evangelical radio empire to a man he calls morally unfit for ministry.

Read the story

I’ve added a Yahoo! stock ticker in the right-hand toolbar. Right now it features Citadel, Journal and Clear Channel. What else should I add?

No, not that one (though it certainly is the best paper located on Curtis Road).

This one: The (Payette) Independent-Enterprise beat out all other comers in the 5,000 or less cirulcation category of the Inland Press Association’s “Best Non-Daily Newspaper Competition.”

Cool!

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association has launched a new weather radio repeater in the Gem State.

The relay is placed on the aptly named Relay Ridge in the Tetons so folks in the Island Park area can get their weather alert and forecast fix.

(Yes, it really is THIS slow).

Saturday afternoon, KSAS/103-3 Kiss FM voicetracker Chase relayed some information he found on the Internets about some kid (or dumb adult) who stretched Saran-wrap across Victory Road. Police are warning how dangerous this is – because a bicyclist or motorcyclist could hit it, fly off — and potentially die. If that were to happen, the person responsible could face manslaughter charges – a felony.

Chase talked about the story, then said – though it was dangerous, he “has to give props for creativity.”

Awesome. Hope the kid responsible heard the words of encouragment….

Not a whole lot going on — but it could be the calm before the storm. If you know something, drop me a line (anonymity always guaranteed).

With that said, here are a couple of nuggets:

- Journal Communications said revenue dropped .4% in January. Radio & TV operations actually brought in MORE money, but revenue at the company’s newspaper — just one newspaper mind you — fell 2.6%, dragging the whole company down. Another sign the engine is falling out of the newspaper industry.

- Clear Channel saw earnings drop a stunning 54% in the fourth quarter. Again here, radio and outdoor operations saw gains – but charges related to the company’s restructuring pulled overall earnings down.

- Speaking of that restructuring, the deadline to pony up an offer to buy one of CC’s 448 small market stations was Friday. CC announced deals for 39 of those stations – including the frequencies based in Twin Falls and Idaho Falls/Pocatello.

- Gemma Gaudette turned up at KBCI this week. She’s reporting… for now.

Former KZMG morning host Baylie and former KZMG intern JD Hanks tied the knot earlier this month in a ceremony in Charleston, SC.

JD picked up the nickname “Heartbreaker” during the intern gig — and also picked up a future wife in the process… which sortof negates the nickname.

Congrats!

Updated with picture, courtesy Baylie

(Off-topic, by the way…)

The co-inventor of the television remote died late last week here in Boise.

Robert Adler came up with the “Zenith Space Command” 51 years ago. The little gadget emitted audible tones that told the TV to flip the station – so you didn’t have to haul your lazy butt across the room to change channels.

One show my remote never seems to click off is Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip — which saw it’s last regular airing tonight. Sadly, the show never connected with the viewing masses, despite smart writing and deep characters.

Studio 60 creator Aaron Sorkin’s next project is a play – based on perhaps the best-known idea to ever come out of the Gem State: the television. Philo T. Farnsworth came up with the underlying concept for the TV in the farm fields of Rigby in the 1920s. The Farnsworth Invention will bow in San Diego soon.

For some reason, R&R and AllAccess skipped several local stations in their ratings summaries.

I stumbled upon “StationRatings.com” for the first time today, and the site includes numbers for two of the lower-rated stations.

Including:
KDJQ 0.6
KAYN 0.8

Peak Broadcasting is set to sell one of eight Fresno, CA stations it is currently buying from CBS Radio.

PB says it will unload KFPT, an Air America talker – to a group known as “Fat Dawgs 7.” Seriously. One day your paycheck has the CBS eye on it… the next… a picture of seven “fat dawgs.”

Anyway, the Fresno Bee reports the station will fetch $2.5 million. Peak must wait for FCC approval of its deal with CBS before it can make the next domino fall.

PB is vying to purchase Clear Channel’s Boise cluster of stations. CC has set a deadline of Friday for offers on its “small market” stations — of which Boise is the biggest of the small.

I was up and moving before 10am on Saturday morning (a rare feat) – and enjoyed hearing the “Best of Mike & Kate” while I rolled through the Moxie Java drive-thru on Vista. The show was clearly labeled as “best of” and is a smart way to fill a shift.

A $13-billion dollar deal will mush together the only two sat. radio players in to one big ball.

No decision on a name.
(Via LostRemote)

Clear Channel Communications is giving would-be station buyers until February 23 to pony up offers for frequencies currently on the block.

448 stations in all will end up with new owners. In Idaho, all the company’s stations outside of Boise are already spoken for — leaving those broadcasting in the City of Trees as the big question mark.

All Access put out this teaser today:

What was Peak Broadcasting CEO Todd Lawley doing in Boise, ID yesterday? Was he (…) buying more stations?

We’ll rule out the possibility that PB is purchasing Journal or Citadel for now — and the FMI stations aren’t in play. With no independents to buy (really) – that leaves the CC group.

Peak is a startup — that bought a group of stations in Fresno, CA late last year. The Fresno Bee notes that the company isn’t afraid to make changes among its new acquisitions. Peak paid $90 million for the Fresno stations – with the backing of a San Francisco investment firm.

Lawley spent time with both CC & Citadel in Tucson, AZ – and told told Tucson Weekly that he thinks the time is right for a Western US-focused owner.

“It’s a great opportunity right now,” Lawley said. “We’re looking at what I call Consolidation 2.0. The first consolidation was through that 1996 to 1999 period, and now you’re seeing a deconsolidation with some of these larger companies, and that offers great opportunities for people like me to acquire and operate these clusters. That’s our strategy, to obtain clusters in markets from 30 through 100 in fast-growing Western markets with an emphasis on country, news-talk and (adult-contemporary formats).”

Country – check. AC – check. News/Talk – check.

A recent R&R profile of Lawley seems to indicate that the Boise cluster is a fit in Peak’s strategy:

“The intent is to buy dominant clusters in four or five markets and focus them, and invest in marketing, branding and people. And to compete with the bigger companies across the street.”

And this parting thought:

“The public companies have got to get out of the grips of Wall Street, which is ruining radio. When you can’t reinvest in your brand or your talent, how are you going to win?”

So we know that a “local group” headed by “familiar names” is in the running — and now the Peak group emerges. We’ll know a lot more in a month…

Anchor/Reporter

Boise’s # 1 breaking news radio station will have an opening soon. Read the following:

Duties: Read, write, produce local newscasts for on-air broadcast. Gather, write and produce local news.

Qualifications:

High School Diploma or GED
At least two years experience as a radio or television news anchor/reporter
Good typing, computer skills.
Must be able to multi-task.
Willingness to work any time, any day.
Good verbal communication skills.
Good broadcast voice.
Good broadcast writing skills.
Dependable transportation/drivers license.

T&R on this one to Ken Weaver – 1419 W. Bannock / Boise, ID 83701

First, the posting…

We need a morning star for Lite FM in Boise Idaho. We have an outstanding B-Player in Kevin Murphy but we need an opinionated, passionate, active star that can live his/her life on the radio and communicate with adults. Great facility, beautiful city and the opportunity of a lifetime. Are you ready to step into the spotlight and be the center of attention? Get a tape and resume to me right away.

Anything there strike you a bit… funny?

T&R to Jeff Cochran – 827 E. Park Blvd / Boise, ID 83712 / JeffCochran@ClearChannel.com

7:50pm Monday – KSAS-FM: Night jock Chase talked about his recent extended weekend trip. Then he talked about how he “missed the fog” at the Boise airport – and “just flew in here” today.

Chalk that up to another out-of-market voicetracker fabrication. I live in SE Boise – and by coincidence of timing, was on my way home. Just to be sure he wasn’t spending some time in Boise, I decided it might be fun to roll through the CC parking lot. Each studio was empty – except for one gentleman – but he wasn’t in the KSAS studio, and he wasn’t talking (the bit was still ongoing).

At the end of the spiel, Chase told people to call “384-1033.” OK. I tried twice. At 3:02 in to each call – after lots of ringing, the phone disconnected.

Chase is based in Portland, and voicetracks to the Boise market. He’s not here. He didn’t deal with the fog. He mislead the listener.

Over the weekend, KCIX night jock Lori Bradley talked about the Laura Ingalls Wilder event at the Boise Library this weekend. She said she “had a neighbor go to that.” That’s another out-of-market voicetrack lie.

You’ll remember that Clear Channel — KSAS specifically — was at the center of a 2002 Wall Street Journal on “creative” out-of-market practices

“Cabana Boy” Geoff Allen hosted a session with the pop-rock duo Evan & Jaron. He invited Boise listeners to call in and ask questions. Of course, Boise listeners couldn’t do that.

While this situation is minor in comparison – it shows that a very tempting practice (to sound local at the expense of the truth) is still very much alive.

Here are several passages from the WSJ piece:

Mr. Alan also used phone calls he had recorded during his live show in San Diego, editing out local references to make them usable in Boise.

Sometimes he does a bit less, though. After greeting “Dawn,” who “is stuck at work today,” he admitted off the air that she was “somebody I just made up right now.”

…Hope Brophy, a manager at a local hair salon, said that, even though she couldn’t tell the difference, the idea “irritates me. … I think if you don’t live here, you don’t understand it.”

Clear Channel’s then-CEO maligned — and defended the KSAS actions:

Michaels… says he’s not aware of the details of Mr. Alan’s situation, but that it sounds like “this would be an example of a personality being a little too creative.”

He compares the radio shows to films, which wouldn’t be “nearly as much fun if the camera kept turning around to show you it was just a set. I don’t know that the radio experience would be as good if we said every five minutes, ‘By the way, I’m not really here and I taped this 20 minutes ago.’ But that’s all part of the magic of creating entertainment.”

I asked Clear Channel Boise Operations Manager about the more recent incidents. While he didn’t adress them specifically – he did say he wants out-of-town talent to make their show local.

“I also encourage the jocks to talk about what’s going on in the community but no, we don’t want them to fabricate something as if they participated,” he said.

Cochran also notes that phones are forwarded to out-of-market jocks “on a regular basis.”

The Dixie Chicks walked away with five Grammy awards Sunday night – including the top three prizes. Eric Clapton was the last artist to grab the top three — in 1993.

Country radio continues to shun the Chicks.

“But they didn’t sell many albums last year.” Wrong. The trio unloaded 2 million discs — less than Justin Timberlake’s 2.7, and (#1 album of 2006) High School Musical’s 3.8 — but still double platinum.

Concert sales were relatively flat — but what pumps concert sales? Radio.

But apparently radio is having less of an effect on album sales. I mean, really — when was the last time you heard a track from High School Musical on the radio?

25-54, 6am-midnight:

KCIX 10.4
KKGL 8.5
KTHI 7.5
KIZN 7.2
KJOT 5.5
KBOI 5.2
KIDO 4.9
KXLT 4.6
KTIK 4.2
KRVB 3.9

There’s a lot of discussion and debate here lately — which is a good thing!

However, the personal attacks really do have to stop. If one “anonymous” user throws a stone at another “anonymous” user – it really doesn’t matter. If someone using their real name attacks an anonymous user – that really doesn’t cause much of a problem . But anonymous users MUST refrain from attacking people using their names – and ESPECIALLY those who don’t participate on this board. I’ve been trying to leave the messages alone – but that’s beginning to change. Don’t libel people, or you may find that you are no longer able to post.

Thanks for your understanding.

Somehow, I never noticed this on Journal Broadcast Group’s website.

Some excerpts:

“(JBG) offer the tools to help you succeed, with customer focused sales programs, qualitative data, and empowerment to create opportunities for your clients.” – AE Brook Bender

“Journal Broadcast Group operates at a higher standard for ethics and work ethics. Every company has ’some’ good workers, but Journal Broadcast Group is more consistent with our corporate culture. Most everyone is operating under the same standard.” – LSM Greg Giersch

“Journal Broadcast Group has given me the opportunity to take on projects and tasks based on where my skills and talents are better suited. Whenever I have wanted to take on new tasks, I have been given the opportunity to do so and the support to learn to do them better.” – promotions director Kristine Simoni

OregonMediaInsiders has the story of a Medford, OR TV station that had to evacuate after a suspicious graffiti covered van showed up in the parking lot.

Stories of media organizations in precarious positions are not uncommon (see KOIN, KSL, NBC News – a bullet even came through the KTVB newsroom in 2001). KTVL was left dangling – with no way to control the station from outside master control. Employees vacated the building at 7:20am – and when the Early Show ended at 9am, an hour of promos rolled from the CBS backhaul feed. The station was apparently powerless to not only report the news — but to even bring the transmitter down remotely.

Back at the old KFXD-FM, I remember a set of instructions posted in the studio on how to take down the transmitter by phone. With so many stations clustered in single buildings (six on Park Blvd., six on Bannock and six at Plaza Seven [not to mention the TV station next door]) – is there a quick way to either a) control the stations remotely, or b) take them off the air? If not, why not?

Journal Broadcast Group didn’t have the best book.

KJOT/J-105 led the group – but did so with a mere 4.9 – the seventh place station in the market.

What’s more alarming – every single Journal station lost share (12+) from spring. All of them.

KJOT – down 23%
KQXR – down 12%
KTHI – down 7%
KRVB – down 17%
KGEM – down 25%

The bright spot – several of the stations are up year to year – KRVB, KJOT and KTHI. The Spring 06 book was actually somewhat of an anomaly for JRN – as you can see in the graph below.

So if Journal is actually right about on par – why does it have no stations in the top six?

KCIX/Mix 106’s meteoric rise (from a 2.5 in spring 2003 to a 7.2 in fall 2006) is a fairly improbably feat. The station went from a bottom-feeder (and rampant rumors of a country flip), to – for now at least – the market leader among people 12+.

As much as many in the trenches like to think live & local trumps all — this is a case where something less can work. Mix is live from 5:30-10:00am with a dynamic, lively morning show. Mike Kasper and Kate McGwire are joined by Tom Collins and Claire Day to bring an almost Regis and Kelly-like atmosphere to the AM drive. Someone in the upper ranks of Boise radio noted to me that ‘Kate McGwire is probably the best known personality in Boise radio.’ Outside of Paul J. Schneider, that may be true.

When the clock strikes 10 though – Mix, like many of its Clear Channel sisters, goes on auto-pilot. Tommy voice-tracks the mid-day shift, taking very few if any calls – but relying on lots of music and his blend of funny stories and anecdotes. As I noted after the last ratings book, the formula is successful – and Tommy has an actual working knowledge of the Boise market. The afternoon and evening shifts are staffed by out-of-towners.

The central question here: would KCIX be even MORE successful if it were live through the mid-day and evening drive?

The other factor: KSAS. As I’ve hinted at before – CC seems to be using this pop station as a wedge to keep KZMG from obtaining mass appeal. Kiss is the sacrificial lamb to some degree. It’s clear after eight years that these two stations will flip flop ratings positions every few books – but until something drastic happens, neither will break out. But with Kiss breathing down Magic’s neck, the heritage popster can’t really compete with Mix – since it has to find ways to contend with Kiss. The most interesting thing to happen in that battle in years is the divergence of the playlists – with KSAS going urban, and Magic tilting more towards a pure CHR play.

Clear Channel’s flip of 104.3 to country also seems to be having an impact. While that station is pulling tiny numbers – it’s put KIZN and KQFC on the defensive – and helped saturate the country market (along with KSRV). Now you have four stations vying for the country portion of the female audience, two vying for the pop slice — and just one on the mainstream AC/hot AC turf.

KXLT (another CC brand) has proven itself to be a much smaller factor in the game – and even with Christmas music for a third of the book, its days of 7s and 8s is long gone. It does package well for advertisers with KCIX — as does KSAS to some degree.

I generally don’t post a whole lot of off-air personnel moves – but this one is of note.

Clear Channel’s long time promotions director Casey Fisher gave notice today. Fisher has been the driving force behind the company’s promo efforts for years — at least since 1998. I had the chance to work with her on a crazy stunt to hang Steve Shannon and Stephanie Kelly in an RV from a crane high above the mall – and she was full of great ideas and helped make the promotion work.

Bill Lee is no longer a member of the Clear Channel Boise team. Lee was let go from KXLT/107.9 Lite FM. His name is already off the website.

His replacement?

Micky Fox.

Just yesterday I was told that she was trying out for the open KSAS morning job — but it appears she’s landed elsewhere with the group.